Sneak Peek at TaylorMade’s 2006 New Products

Just two days ago, the Bag Drop brought you the skinny on Callaway Golf’s new 2006 lineup. Now our operatives have come through with information on one of golf’s other equipment heavyweights: TaylorMade.

Given TaylorMade’s ongoing success with the r7 Quad driver, it is no surprise that the company’s four major upcoming new products all bear the r7 badge. Read on to learn more about two new r7 drivers and two sets of r7 irons.

Note: Images of the TaylorMade r7 425s temporarily removed.

The r7 Quad driver started the trend toward moveable weights in drivers, and it has been a big draw at retail and on tour for the last two years. But at 400cc, the r7 Quad is becoming one of the smaller drivers on the market in the era of maxed-out 460cc drivers.

Enter the r7 425 drivers. Available in standard and Tour Preferred models, the new drivers are, wait for it… 425cc. That’s a good bump over the r7 Quad, but still smaller than the company’s R5 Dual drivers.

Size isn’t the big story with the r7 425. Instead, the interesting bits are in a new application of Taylor Made’s Moveable Weight Technology and some new shaft technology from Fujikura.

The r7 425 drivers have four movable weights, just like the r7 Quad. But the new drivers have the weights pushed farther apart to increase forgiveness and clubhead stability. The standard version comes with four removable weights, and the Tour Preferred will come 12 moveable weights – that’s 98 grams of adjustability.

The standard version of the r7 425 will have a new Fujikura shaft called the REAX. There is an area of the midsection of the shaft that is reinforced by two high-grade woven graphite strands. Meanwhile, the r7 425 TP version will have a different REAX shaft with Fujikura’s Rombax technology, which stretches the entire length of the shaft. Both versions of the REAX shaft are designed to help keep the shaft from deforming – and losing energy – during the swing. The trend in drivers is offering the hottest premium shafts, and Fujikura’s Rombax shafts have been picking up a cult-like following.

The new r7 425 drivers will bear a strong similarity to the previous generation of r7 Quad drivers. But witnesses who have seen the new drivers say that the color yellow is emphasized. In fact, there’s a large area of the sole that is bright yellow. Looks like the Nike SQ has competition in the yellow-colored driver arena. Expect new information at http://thenewr7.com/ in the next few days or weeks.

As we noted earlier, the r7 designation isn’t just for woods anymore. Two new sets of irons carrying the r7 name will soon hit the market. The r7 CGB Max irons and r7 XD irons both attempt to translate some of the technology built into the r7 drivers to the world of irons. Both r7 irons have Inverted Cone Technology (ICT), a method of making the face area hotter that is a staple of the r7 woods. And the r7 CGB Max irons also have weights positioned in the perimeter – though they aren’t moveable.

The r7 CGB Max irons will feature a complex, multi-piece design. A thin, 455 stainless steel face has ICT – visible in the cavity – for maximum distance on off-center hits. A large 17-4 stainless steel body has four fixed tungsten plugs to increase forgiveness. The topline is hollow to help lower the center of gravity, and there is an undercut design reminiscent of Callaway and Cobra irons. This is a brawny clubhead, and it is likely to be at the top of the TaylorMade price list.

The r7 XD looks similar at a glance, with the undercut weighting and visible ICT pattern in the cavity, and it also has a hollow top line. These irons will be aimed at golfers who want distance, period. The face is lightweight titanium, and a Tuned Performance Cartridge – like those used in some versions of the company’s RAC irons – will dampen vibration and add forgiveness.

Both r7 iron sets are big, oversized designs that probably won’t appeal to low-handicappers. But that’s a pretty small percentage of golfers, and TaylorMade is clearly aiming for the golfer who is trying to hit the ball high and straight (if your handicap isn’t single digits, that means you).

TaylorMade is clearly confident that the r7 name resonates with consumers, and is sticking with the name despite the company’s recent history of putting a new moniker on each new generation of products (300 series to 500 series to r7 to R5). If the new r7s have the same appeal as the old r7s, Taylor Made is going to sell a bunch of these drivers and irons. And if you’ve been holding out on the original r7 Quad, that $399 price point is about to come down as a closeout.

No word yet on when any of these new r7 products will hit golf shops, or on price points. But with the sudden influx of new products (Ping, Cobra, Cleveland, Titleist, etc.), I wouldn’t be surprised if the drivers are at retail in time to be under the Christmas trees of lots of good little boys and girls.